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1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngEcology Hour on KZYXhttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com
Anticoagulant Rodenticides in the Forest Food Webhttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/anticoagulant-rodenticides-in-the-forest-food-web/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/anticoagulant-rodenticides-in-the-forest-food-web/#respondWed, 13 Jun 2018 02:45:00 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=379Continue reading →]]>
In 2009, a Pacific Fisher was found dead of rodenticide poisoning, in a remote area where no such poisons should have been used. Dr. Mourad Gabriel of the Integral Ecology Research Center began investigating, finding more and more animals poisoned by anticoagulant rodenticides. For years the source of the poisons remained a mystery – until law enforcement personnel took him to trespass marijuana grow sites. Dr Gabriel tells that story and much more about the spread of poisons in areas far from human habitation or agriculture, and how the entire food web is being affected.

Lots more information is available at the IERC Website, including open-access publications and videos. This is an area of emerging research in a rapidly-changing landscape with social, political and economic implications. IERC also has a Facebook page.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/anticoagulant-rodenticides-in-the-forest-food-web/feed/0Tim in Albionmartes_martes_cropPlastics in the Oceanshttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/plastics-in-the-oceans/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/plastics-in-the-oceans/#respondWed, 15 Nov 2017 01:24:27 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=367Continue reading →]]>On The Ecology Hour tonight, we talk with Dr. Sean Anderson, Chair & Professor in the Environmental Science and Resource Management Program, California State University Channel Islands. Our topic will be “Plastics in the Oceans,” and we will hear about the sources, extent, and effects of plastics contamination on marine life.

Dr. Anderson is both a teacher and researcher, employing innovative methods to learn about our world and to transmit that learning to the next generation of scientists. The “Pirate Lab” website includes a great deal of information about the work he and his associates and students are involved with.

He also provided the inspiration for a namesake character in the movies “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” That’s kind of unusual for an ecologist.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/plastics-in-the-oceans/feed/0Tim in AlbionCoastal Geologyhttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/coastal-geology/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/coastal-geology/#respondWed, 13 Sep 2017 03:20:39 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=357Our guest for the September 12 show was Thomas Cochrane, Professional Geologist and author of “Shaping the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast: Exploring the Coastal Geology of Northern California.” We had a lively and informative discussion, which you can listen to HERE.

Tonight we bring back Dr. William Sydeman of The Farallon Institute for an update on ocean conditions in the North Pacific. Dr. Sydeman was our first interview guest on The Ecology Hour – Science Edition, describing how the ocean currents and upwelling affect the food-chain and nearshore marine productivity. That was three years ago, when oceanographers were predicting an El Nino event, possibly a powerful one… A lot has happened in the ocean since then, with profound ramifications throughout the ecosystem. That El Niño exceeded expectations, merging with the unforeseen phenomenon called “The Blob” to produce something called, according to Dr. Sydeman, “El Blobiño!”

We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. The interview was recorded in July 2017 and can be heard or downloaded HERE.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/08/08/north-pacific-ocean-conditions/feed/0Tim in Albionstatic1.squarespace.comButterflies in Californiahttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/butterflies-in-california/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/06/25/butterflies-in-california/#respondSun, 25 Jun 2017 17:42:35 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=302Continue reading →]]>Note: This program was recorded in advance and broadcast on Tuesday, July 11.

In the course of that work and related research and teaching, he has become extraordinarily knowledgeable about butterfly population dynamics, evolution, and a wide range of related subjects. We could talk with him for hours…

For this program, Dr. Shapiro discusses his monitoring project, some of the many findings, and its historical context. He also updates us with specifics about the status of the Monarch butterfly in California and elsewhere, and how the use of different Milkweed species in urban gardens is affecting their life history. We also hear about some of the myriad other butterfly species, native and alien, whose populations and ranges are changing as the California climate changes. Some of the findings are counter-intuitive and may surprise you!

The North American Butterfly Association offers more information about butterflies, including the July 4 Butterfly Count. Next year we will try to schedule another interview with Dr. Shapiro for June, so you can all prepare for the Count!

Reports of mountain lion sightings, including attacks on livestock or pets, have occasioned much commentary in the Mendocino area lately – so this is a timely topic. Our guest, Dr. Winston Vickers, is one of the top lion researchers in this country. He is an Associate Veterinarian and leads research under the Mountain Lion and Bobcat Project at the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center. Much of his work is in the field, tracking the movements of individual lions, as described in this article from the Mountain Lion Foundation.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/mountain-lions/feed/0Tim in AlbionM2E79L221-221R385B329Environmental Oceanographyhttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/environmental-oceanography/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/environmental-oceanography/#respondTue, 11 Apr 2017 15:56:18 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=267Continue reading →]]>Our guest on The Ecology Hour, Dr. John Largier, is Professor of Coastal Oceanography at the University of California Davis and a pioneer in the emerging field of environmental oceanography – linking traditional oceanographic study to critical environmental issues. His research includes field studies of small west coast estuaries, focusing on water movement and water-borne transportation of plankton, larvae, contaminants, pathogens, heat, salt, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and sediment.

Some Mendocino County streams empty into the sea through small estuaries that are seasonally blocked by sand bars. The Navarro River in particular often receives attention in late fall and early winter, when the lagoon behind the barrier bar can rise to flood Highway 128, prompting some to call for efforts to artificially breach the bar. Dr. Largier’s research may help us understand how and why these bars form, how the lagoon functions ecologically, and what environmental effects could result from artificial breaching.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/environmental-oceanography/feed/0Tim in Albion15170801_10154796280508944_3347772305397830652_nEarthquakes and Tsunamishttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/earthquakes-and-tsunamis/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/earthquakes-and-tsunamis/#respondThu, 09 Mar 2017 19:39:22 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=246Continue reading →]]>We change our focus this month, from biology to geology. Our guest is Dr. Lori Dengler, Director of the Humboldt Earthquake Education Center and Emeritus Professor of Geology at Humboldt State University. She will talk about earthquakes and the tsunamis they sometimes generate, and how they affect our coastal environment.

Dr. Dengler answered many questions about tsunamis on the NOVA “Wave That Shook the World” website. She also co-authored a children’s book, “The Extraordinary Story of Kamome,” about a small boat from a Japanese school that was lost in the 2011 tsunami and found two years later on a Humboldt beach.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/earthquakes-and-tsunamis/feed/0Tim in AlbionFire Ecology – another viewhttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/fire-ecology-another-view/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/fire-ecology-another-view/#respondFri, 06 Jan 2017 06:16:54 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=220Continue reading →]]>Last August, we had a great interview with Dr. Chad Hanson about the ecological effects of forest fires in California, challenging the dominant paradigm. This month, we return to the topic with Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist of the Geos Institute and a past President of the Society for Conservation Biology. His recent book– The Ecological Importance of Mixed-Severity Fires: Nature’s Phoenix – presents groundbreaking science on the ecological importance of large fires.

]]>https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2017/01/06/fire-ecology-another-view/feed/0Tim in AlbionSnowy Plovershttps://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/snowy-plovers/
https://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/snowy-plovers/#respondTue, 13 Dec 2016 05:42:47 +0000http://ecologyhour.wordpress.com/?p=213Continue reading →]]>The snowy plover is one of the most endangered shore birds on the West Coast. Dr. Mark Colwell of Humboldt State University has been studying these birds and how to bring them back from near local extinction in northern California.

Dr. Colwell has authored or co-authored a large number of papers on Snowy Plovers. A list of his peer-reviewed publications can be found here.